


Wrath

by GoldBlooded



Series: Tumblr Deadly Sin Challenge [5]
Category: Captain America - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Ficlet, Seven Deadly Sins, Stucky - Freeform, Tumblr Challenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-03
Updated: 2018-03-03
Packaged: 2019-03-26 06:06:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13851669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoldBlooded/pseuds/GoldBlooded
Summary: Part of a Tumblr Ficlet Challenge featuring the Seven Deadly Sins.Steve liked to think he was a pretty even-tempered guy… unless he witnessed something untoward.





	Wrath

Steve liked to think he was a pretty even-tempered guy… unless he witnessed something untoward.

He honestly went about his business with no intentions of starting anything on any given day, only interested in getting to the newsstand on time for work, or doing well with his drawing assignments, or coming home to a quiet night with Bucky. 

He couldn’t help it if he was physically incapable of not stepping in if he saw a guy gettin’ pushy with a dame, or someone hassling the greengrocer across the square from the newsstand, or a perfectly able-bodied young man sitting on a crowded bus, forcing an elderly woman to stand. 

Something in him was just…. not capable of standing by and being silent. There was too much injustice in the world, too much bullying, too much stomping on the little guy already. He couldn’t just watch when it happened in front of him. 

That, as Bucky often reminded him, came at the price of Steve being Brooklyn’s favorite punching bag. 

Bucky, the welterweight boxing champion at the YMCA multiple years in a row, tried to teach Steve how to fight properly. And Steve learned; he was quick on his feet and knew the theory inside and out.

The problem was that he didn’t have the strength or physical skill to match what was in his head. So anytime a punch came his way his brain would tell him to block it and he was either too slow or easily out-maneuvered. 

Fast-forward a couple of years and a science experiment later, and Steve was master over his body. He could tell his arms and legs to move and they would, just as simple as that. He was fast and strong and finally felt at home in his own skin.

This helped with the injustice part, too. A few sharp words and a stern glare from a guy built like Steve (Captain America or no) was usually enough to set people straight. If not, it was a quick fight.

Steve didn’t truly understand that the wrath he’d been feeling in his chest towards unfairness and bullies was minuscule, barely even anything at all until the first time he’d witnessed Bucky on the receiving end of it.

Bucky, who was all smile and swagger at one time, was reduced a little by the war and his captivity. He was shaken, shell-shocked, and Steve defied anyone to go through what Bucky had to be any different. Steve expected people to respect what Bucky had been through and how it had changed him.

Thing is, though? People are assholes.

They were out drinking one night, Bucky finally feeling well enough after a long few days of silence and thousand-yard stares to relax a little. A whiskey neat turned in to two, turned into three, four, five, and eventually he was headed outside for a good, old-fashioned bar brawl with a couple of commanding officers off-duty.

That is, until one of them pulled a few dirty moves and caught Bucky by surprise. That is, until the other one made some lewd comments about the nature of Bucky’s relationship with Captain America.

That is, until both of them called Bucky weak and a disgrace to the Allied Forces.

The shocked heartbreak on Bucky’s face cracked open Steve’s chest and he felt a raging fury unlike anything he’d ever known. Steve was used to Bucky finishing his fights, and this time was his turn to repay the favor. 

Since the Serum, Steve had been trained in multiple forms of martial arts, and would no doubt learn more as time went on. Right now though, Steve stuck to the simple boxing moves Bucky had taught him in a Brooklyn back alley, laying out the two officers in a matter of seconds. 

He tossed a few choice words at them including that he was going to have a word with their superiors about their behavior towards a fellow soldier, and dragged Bucky back inside to settle their bill.

After Steve had Bucky laid out on his cot, still fully-clothed and ranting about what assholes those officers were (they really had it coming,) Bucky started talking about how Steve had stepped in for him. 

Steve expected Bucky to pull the same ‘I had ‘im on the ropes’ that Steve used to, but instead he just said, “Thanks, Stevie. You’re the best.” And stroked Steve’s cheek in a gentle caress, his own whiskey-flushed and smiling, before leaning up to kiss him square on the mouth. 

Steve's chest cracked open even more and not for the first time he found himself thinking about the fight, the same sentiment echoing in his mind, but now as loud as a shout:

Worth it.

**Author's Note:**

> Come [Tumble](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/duelingnebulas) with me!


End file.
